Life Liberty and the Pursuit

LLP #90: "Fight or Flight: Coffee in a Can?"

• Life Liberty and the Pursuit • Episode 90

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Eric & Matt are both former US Army combat veterans who served together while deployed to Iraq during OIF III. Eric is most known for his YouTube channel IraqVeteran8888 which has over 2.4 million subscribers currently as well as his outspoken and no compromise stance regarding the 2nd amendment.  

Matt runs Ballistic Ink which is a branding and merchandising company serving 2A content creators and the firearms industry.  He is also very passionate about the 2nd amendment and freedom.

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Eric:

Welcome back, everybody. This is Eric and Matt. And this is life, liberty and the pursuit, your beacon of freedom and the American way of life. Tune in every Friday for a new episode as we dive into the world of liberty, and what makes our country great. All right, welcome back, everybody. This is Eric and Matt here with Life, Liberty and the pursuit

Matt:

Hello.

Eric:

Hope that everyone has had a great week. And man, we are settling in for a podcast. And this one's gonna be pretty laid back compared to some of the other ones that can get into some pretty intense conversation. In today's podcast, we're going to be doing a flight. If you guys are not familiar, we have our fight or flight series where we go into a variety of different food, beverages, all different kinds of stuff, alcoholic beverages, everything in between. In today's flight, we're going to be discussing canned cold coffees. Now the varieties of coffees that we have here are commonly found in vending machines in Japan, Asia, all across the place, United States, we've got a wide variety of different ones, and especially Japan, like when you visit Japan, and there's all these little quirky vending machines everywhere. And they spit out all kinds of little random products. These are like the kind of little cans of coffee you can get from vending machines and stuff. And I personally am a cold coffee kind of guy. I love cold coffee. So this is going to be a lot of fun. We're going to go through and try five different varieties of coffee.

Matt:

That's right. And I think coffee, canned coffee in general is it's not a new product. It's it's a very young product in America, it's something that has happened, I'll probably say in the last maybe 10 or 15 years that really kind of caught off in the US. But in Asia, it's been it's been like that forever. So like both Korea and Japan, and those are just I say those because those are two of the most experienced with, they've been doing like canned coffee for forever. I mean, it was just always part of part of the culture. Instant coffee in particular has been a very big influence in Korean culture. So in Korean culture, it's they have these little plastic containers like little plastic sticks. And inside it has the coffee, the instant coffee, it has sugar and cream. So it's already kind of pre mixed in there as a dry good. And you just pour it in the little cup, and you mix it with hot water. And bam, then you got coffee. And the way that the serving sizes are set up is like in America when you think of like, Oh, I'm gonna have a cup of coffee, you think of a proper, you know, huge cup of coffee, which I probably killed like 10 cups of coffee a day at minimum. But in Asia, they usually take smaller, smaller cups. So it might be like those little tiny it's almost like a shot. So it's like a cup of Yes. So something like this. And that's perfectly normal for them versus me floating hands. I mean it and the way that they make it with that cold brew style. It's very, very strong. It's it's a lot stronger than than a normal brewing process.

Eric:

Three and a half ounce portion. So, you know, in American terms, that's a tiny little sip. like down it.

Matt:

Oh, that's like a quarter of a regular cup cuz I'm thinking like 10-14 ounce cups. Yeah,

Eric:

even this 11 ounce royal Mills is still relatively, I mean, like for most Americans to drink coffee, like that's not a lot coffee at all, you could down that and be going back for more like, whereby Americans are brewing like entire pots and going through, like you said, 10-12 cups of coffee in the day, and stay in Super caffeinated.

Matt:

You have to and it's just part of the culture there. And you know, I grew up with it. And I like it. I like coffee. I am a coffee connoisseur, as you say.

Eric:

Now, I will admit that I wasn't really big on drinking coffee until much later in life. And I will say I probably haven't been a hardcore coffee drinker. until about the last two or three years.

Matt:

It is an acquired taste. It is one of those things where I agree with you like I've, I've been drinking coffee for a while. But it is one of those things where you have you have to really learn to acknowledge and enjoy the the different intricacies of what that coffee is. I mean, some people kind of go overboard. But I'd look at it like it's like you're tasting anything else. Like if it's a whiskey or cognac, you can pick up on those small attributes where like different earthy tones where it's grown, what that extra, you know, whether it's nitrogen or whatever is adding to that growth process. You can tell the difference where they're from, where they're grown at.

Eric:

I think that what I'm going to really determine here in this particular podcast with you Matt is honestly treating coffee as a beverage and not so much as just an additive. And that thing that's what a lot of people get into Coffee one up doing as though they'll try it black and they might not like the taste of it, just in his black form because it's you know, it's bitter in a lot of cases, and some people might not, not might not really like that bitterness now, like my grandpa, when I was growing up, he would drink just straight up black hot coffee, and I could never get around the heat for one. Like when uh, when coffee came out of a pot, it's just hot as crap. And I'd always have to add a little ice to it. Yeah. And then it's like, alright, well, if I'm going to add the ice to the point where ice is it down where it's not so hot, it's burning my lips when I drink it, when most will just drink it cold because then the water melts, and it's all watered down and changes the profile of the coffee, especially if you're drinking it black. And then the other end of coffee is like where someone will add a whole bunch of sugar and creamer and additives and flavors to kind of hide the bitterness. And And admittedly, I'm guilty of that, like, for coffee, I would always just mask the flavor and just really receive it in terms of the benefits of the caffeine and get caffeinated

Matt:

caffeine delivery device,

Eric:

yeah, caffeine delivery device and just get in there. And then there's my coffee. But in recent years, and literally, I would say more like recent months, I've gotten more into the concept of okay, just cold black coffee with very, very little in it. Okay. Now, there's a lot of people who do a coffee Deluxe, and a coffee Deluxe, just on a on a different point would be, you know, maybe a little milk and cream or something and some people add a little liquor to their coffee and make it a coffee Deluxe, or maybe like a CBD oil or something. So there's tons of so coffee as a culture across the world, it's just important to make the distinction and to recognize that coffee is something that is a part of every single culture all around the entire planet and has been for centuries. So

Matt:

Oh, yeah,

Eric:

coffee is a very, very ingrained and important part of the entire human existence. So that's one thing that's cool. Is every culture does their coffee a little bit different, right? Like so this kind of quirky, canned, you know, um, you know, like vending machine coffee, like, that's kind of a different, that's part of that culture, right? Like, hey, it's quick and easy to crack it open, you know, it's accessible, it's ready to drink. And that may not necessarily wind up going towards the same type of, let's just say societal situation where, okay, you got, you look at the guys over in Iraq, or in Turkey, or in Afghanistan, or anywhere like that, where, you know, in the Middle East, where they take coffee is like this, this ritual. Well, when they make Chai, they make coffee, like they're gonna do this

Matt:

They'll stop a firefight, when when it's time to make Chai, like them dudes, they'll be like, Alright, we're done. yeah, tea time for tea.

Eric:

Time of tea But that's the thing. It's like, you know, that those people that they'll look at it more along the lines of hey, or like the British, for instance, like, coffee is a ritual, right? Like coffee is something that they

Matt:

tea is a ritual

Eric:

yeah, tea, coffee, all those things are ritual, you know, you're going to go through and make it and go through oh, we're going to use the French press and all the different ways you can make coffee. So some cultures appreciate the art of making the coffee and doing it yourself and having it nice and fresh and hot. Versus in this situation. This is more of a hey, I need my pick me up. And so I guess the question that we're posing here in this podcast is alright, what is this stuff tastes like like we're talking black, cold coffee right out of a can. There it is.

Matt:

Well, I drink my coffee black Anyway. So with it being black, that's right up my alley. As far as it being cold brew, I'm perfectly fine With that. I am curious to see you know how the flavor is after its shelf stable. Because it's not just pure coffee like they are they do have to add some additives in there to make that shelf stable. You know, and then I'm reading I read the ingredients, I think there was like one or two in there that you know, I don't know exactly the names of them. I can't really pronounce them because they're additives, but they're there. I'm curious, I'm excited. But also, if you want to make your own, you know, cold brew coffee at home, it's very easy. All you do is grind your beans very, very coarse. And it's you're just steeping it for 24 hours. So you're just taking a big picture, putting like a cheese cloth and you wrap those ground coffee beans in a cheesecloth and just let it steep in the water in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, you pull that cheese cloth out with the beans and you have cold brew coffee. It's not that you're pouring the coffee over ice. If you pour the coffee over ice, it dilutes it and melts it. It'll make it cold, but you're not getting that concentrate. But man, you hit that cold brew coffee that you let steep for 24 hours. It'll light you up at nine o'clock in the morning.

Eric:

All right, also another point of distinction that feels important to associate with all the coffee's that we have here on the table. All of these I think with the exception of one or non flavored and straight up black. And don't be fooled, right? You would think, okay, a canned coffee like that's not premium, right? That's dirt cheap. That's like you think, Oh$1 You know coke out of a out of a vending machine, you think, Oh, well, you know, it can't be a good product can't be premium because it comes in can? No, no, no think again. Some of the stuff i mean the average price on these coffees are I think on the bottom end we have our royal Mills, black coffee, I think I pay $2 a can for this, up to the top end, I want to believe is the not for the serving size, because this is this is a smaller serving size, but the boss black. I mean, even Alright, so think that this is just a little three and a half ounce can. I think these are like three bucks. So $2 to $3 in that ballpark, with the only exception being the UCC. This is just physically a larger cold brew. It's more coffee. So yeah, I think this was like $3.50.

Matt:

Yeah

Eric:

so you're not talking cheap. Like it still has the association of a premium product in terms of the price. So let's see if a $2 I mean cause you have this expectation wouldn't you, Matt of like, what a $2 or$3 cup of coffee should be

Matt:

right

Eric:

I mean, like you can go to McDonald's and get a coffee for a buck

Matt:

Yep. $1 large any size coffee, you know,

Eric:

right. So what is two to three and a half dollars getting us in a coffee, and is the shelf stable canned attribute of this, something that is desirable. And that doesn't tarnish the quality of the coffee, I guess that's what we're trying to determine.

Matt:

And also in with majority majority of these being Japanese. In Japan, vending machines, when you think vending machines, it's not cheap. It's like when you go to Japan, you can literally walk down the street, and they'll be in an island in this on the sidewalk. And it's surrounded by vending machines in the middle of the island that you can't see are actual cooks, cooking inside. And the back of the vending machines, they're putting the fresh food into the machine into the little cabinet. And the person is walking by, they put the credit card in and they open it and they grab the food. So it's not like that food sits there I saw with my own eyes, it was absolutely amazing. You see a little Japanese guy right there making a hamburger and french fries. And he just puts it in there. And then he hits a little light. And you walk by and you see the green light. You're like, oh, that's that's in there. I can grab that. And you just walk by and grab it. And it's like five bucks

Eric:

and get this 24 hours a day. Seven days a week, it doesn't matter. It's so strange. I've never been to Japan, but I know a lot of people that have been and they always tell me like, Dude, you don't get it. Like you could be hanging out at 2am. And I'm hungry. And then you go out vending machine. And you know, you can get food

Matt:

you can

Eric:

it's always food, it's always accessible.

Matt:

You can get anything

Eric:

and there's all these quirky vending machines. And the cool thing about them too, is that they're in these really random places like you would think, man, what is this weird alley and like, oh, there's a vending machine. It's like a little cat on it. hello. Yeah, it's like, it's so random.

Matt:

Yeah, dude, you'll be walking down the street and like, you'll see a vending machine with full of socks, like just socks. And you're like, why would anybody need socks? And then you see like this lady stop. She Oh, she buys a pair of like, no show socks, takes off her like heels, puts on the socks, puts her heels back on and then just walks off because at that moment you realize everybody in Tokyo walks like it's, it's a walking country. So like they have rain gear, like you'll walk down, you'll see an entire vending machine of ponchos. And you're like, it's only good like, three or four days out of the out of the month. But man when it rains, everybody stopping buy ponchos.

Eric:

Yeah, when you need it, you need it. And if there's a need that needs to be fulfilled, chances are there's a vending machine

Matt:

it's just one of those weird things man

Eric:

in Japan that can associate with that. So we're going to get into our first coffee. And I'm going to try to go somewhat in order of price.

Matt:

Yeah. however you wanna do it

Eric:

And our first one is the royal Mills, black coffee, unsweetened and most of these are just black unsweetened coffee. All right now we actually had to dig to figure out this website to get a little bit of information. This coffee comes from Hawaii. All right, and this is actually imported and sold. You know, it's a product through the United States. So it's Hawaiian. But I couldn't find a lot of information in terms of royal Mills as a brand. But we did locate the website where the coffee actually originates from in Hawaii and it's O T O E N dash usa.com So it's a you know, it's a very crude and basic website but I'm just gonna read right off the website.

Matt:

If you guys are watching it looks looks like you had like a six year old make your website

Eric:

well look

Matt:

fix that.

Eric:

Here's the thing. They're busy making coffee and ain't got time to mess with websites. Okay. let's see. O T O N Hawaii LLC continues to bring healthy and refreshing drinks to the Hawaiian Islands and across Pacific, starting with just a few guava and passionfruit drinks our beverage selections have grown into the Aloha made lineup of 18 naturally flavored fruit drinks, premium green tea and iced coffee drinks. Alright, that we're about to try - round out the selections and our commitment to produce only the most wholesome and natural products. Quality local ingredients such as Maoli cane sugar and tropical fruits go into making our goods, ensuring a standard and taste the quality our customers have come to expect in every sip. Let's see. I'm just going to paraphrase they were established in 1987 as Hawaii's most popular maker of - I'm sorry if I mispronounce this- salmon noodle, Simon, samen noodles and aloha made tropical fruit drinks. And fit was a natural one. But with the change of focus on our core business, the SNS line of products was sold in 2006 to better position ourselves as Hawaii's leading beverage manufacturer and distributor. Alright, so

Matt:

interesting

Eric:

it says our affiliate company ITON in North America markets Asian teas and beverages to the mainland and Hawaii. So I would imagine that's, that's what we're dealing with here. This so royal Mills brand, which basically sold under this sort of subsidiary or big conglomerate, if you will. $2 for this can of coffee.

Matt:

Hmm, that's

Eric:

looks nice.

Matt:

Yeah. I mean, it's got it looks like your, you know, typical black coffee. It isn't as dark so I wouldn't think this is a dark roast. But I mean, you know what it smells like? It smells like Do you remember that cereal called smacks?

Eric:

Yeah,

Matt:

with the bear on it.

Eric:

Yeah.

Matt:

Doesn't that smell?

Eric:

It smells exactly like smacks. dude, you just put me back to my childhood man.

Matt:

Oh, yeah. Smells like

Eric:

don't make smack cereal

Matt:

I don't know. But that's what, like that brought me back. I was like that's like the cereal

Eric:

Now, There's two very different observations that are about to occur here. One is an experienced black coffee drinker. And then me who admittedly, up until not very long ago, I usually try to kind of sugar my stuff up a bit and sweeten it up. So I'm not huge on black coffee, but I'm going to give a shot.

Matt:

Oh, man, it's world changing.

Eric:

Ready?

Matt:

Yep. I mean, that's pretty light. That is a, that is some light medicine.

Eric:

I'm kind of expecting black coffee to be bitter.

Matt:

Yeah.

Eric:

So it has this. So it's, it's not real bitter, like you would expect a straight up black coffee to be so yeah, I can totally just pour that on some ice and drink it with no sugar or anything. And know that it's it's not super bitter. For me. That's what always got me with coffee. Black coffee was just how bitter and strong it was. But this doesn't have a strong flavor at all. This almost makes me think of coffee that's been sitting out in a pot all day.

Matt:

Yeah. Unfortunately

Eric:

Coffee that's like is watered down. Like if you iced it down and then forgot about it and came back and was watered down.

Matt:

Yeah

Eric:

I don't mean it in a disrespectful way to the brand and the sanctity of the product. I'm not saying it's not a good product, but it definitely doesn't pit me as a non experienced coffee drinker, as being like a black coffee. Like it tastes very neutered.

Matt:

It does. It does taste very watered down. Like it almost has like no flavor to it. Like, it has a very good aroma. It smells very good. But flavor wise, is a little bit lacking.

Eric:

Yeah, it really doesn't taste like anything

Matt:

And I think that might just be by design. Maybe they're they do have to appeal to like the lowest common denominator. So they don't want to. Yeah, yeah, they don't, you have to think any company that's in business has to, you know, try to approach the business of how do we appeal to the largest group of people. And that's to not have a super strong coffee. That's not going to have you jumping out of your seat. It's not going to have you kind of you know, sucking your teeth because you know, It's so bitter. So, I mean, if that was the goal, which I think it is, they probably did a great job because it's a very plain black coffee.

Eric:

And to be fair, let's say that you are the type of person that likes to doctor your coffee up a little bit. That's totally a great basis.

Matt:

Yep. Yep.

Eric:

Because it's not real bitter. It's not real. It's not super flavorful. In any other extreme. It's just very basic. So yeah, if you were to pour just a little milk and cream in there, or maybe a little sugar or something or maybe your favorite coffee additive, that could totally just be something, now look what I associate the quality of that product with $2 Though I mean, like, I would almost expect that canned coffee be like a buck

Matt:

Yeah, I mean, I

Eric:

I've tasted McDonald's coffee has a little more flavor.

Matt:

I mean,

Eric:

to be fair, I mean, I'm just being honest.

Matt:

And I think you brought up a great point. Asian culture and Japan has a very, very large presence in Hawaii, Hawaii has a very large Japanese culture. And in Asia, it is typical to use sweeteners and cream like that is a normal thing. Like they,

Eric:

they don't look down on you, if you don't drink it straight.

Matt:

They don't. And they and most people don't drink it drink a black, it is common like most of these canned coffees usually come mixed, like creamer and sugar already. And I know all the instant coffees that you add hot water to all have creamy sugar mixed into it anyway. So it's very unlikely that they would not be using that as a base,

Eric:

is very fair to mention that I would just like to say that in my journey to find unsweetened black, canned coffee, it's actually kind of difficult to find it. So you're correct. In most of the searching that I've done, most of the canned coffees are already flavored in some way, whether it's a matcha, like the green tea type coffees, or whether it's, you know, that type or, or green tea in general, I think in fact, this UCC, like this black coffee here, they do matcha, green tea, they do a vanilla one, the black, you know, unsweetened ones are actually a little bit harder to find. And I actually had to go out of my way to locate these so we could do this flight. Now, I've been trying to kind of turn a little bit of a corner in life and that I'm trying to eat healthier. I'm trying to lose weight, I'm trying to exercise more and lift more weights and get in better shape. And part of that is hey, how do I cut carbs? And how do I cut sugars out of my diet? So how do I get my caffeine fix without drinking something like sodas? That was my battle that got me into this journey to discover a cold coffee that is unsweetened that I can tastefully and respectfully sweetened just enough to make it palatable so that I'm absolutely consuming the fewest amount of sugar and carbs that I possibly can. That was my goal. Now, the old timer approach would be like well, songwriters poured in a class and drink it black. What are you doing? Okay, sure. Granted, you're right now, in in chasing that goal, I could totally alright now whereby the royal Mills didn't quite have the flavor profile of a full on black cup of coffee out of a, you know, an American coffee pot that's real strong. I could ice that down. And with no sugar, no additives, it's palatable enough to where I can just drink it, like I would drink water and still get some caffeine, you know, get caffeinated and still drink coffee. So I didn't know that. And I wouldn't have known that it had I not tried it black with nothing else in and I just immediately went, Alright, I'm gonna doctor it up the way I do. And assume that you have to doctor it up to make it palatable. And that's not the case. So really, the Royal Mills does win a few points in my regard, because it's easy to just pour in a glass and drink and it doesn't taste bad

Matt:

Yep, and all of these you can buy on Amazon, by the way.

Eric:

Okay,

Matt:

so just so you can go on Amazon buy any of these, links in the description below, just kidding

Eric:

We're gonna go down the, we're gonna go down the rabbit hole here. Now, this next one that we're going to get into is from the UCC Coffee Company. Now, admittedly, out of all of these, this is the one that I've had the most access to, I have purposely not tried all the rest of these coffees until Matt was here, because I wanted us to experience them together. But so we were up at the local H Mart. And it's up in your neck of the woods,

Matt:

that's right.

Eric:

And I saw this coffee and I thought it was just cool, you know, and I wanted to give it a try. And I thought, well, heck, I'll buy a few cans of it. And I'll give it a shot. So I found this UCC black coffee. I bought a few cans, went home proceeded to, you know, give them a try and Doctor him up a little bit. I was like, wow, I really like this coffee. And like when I crack it smells good. It's just this coffee was doing it for me. So then that's when I got down the rabbit hole of well, what else is out there? You know, because it's always cool to think well, what if there's something really great that is better than this? And maybe I just got the lowest common denominator and didn't realize maybe this was the worst. If there's something better well, I need to know if it's better so I can buy it because the prices are so similar.

Matt:

Yep. And you know, H Mart is a really cool store. I know that you love going, you love going there every time you're up in my neck of the woods. Interesting fact, I believe that that whole an H Mart is everywhere and all like all the major cities. It's an Asian market, predominantly Korean, but it has like stuff from all Asian countries. It's actually owned by the son of the guy that owns Samsung. So he, that's like his little project. It's like you have Samsung, you have the Samsung CEO son. And then you have H Mart

Eric:

Well, I will tell you this when it comes to Samsung, I um, I have Samsung TV and a Samsung. I actually bought a Samsung washer and dryer. Nice. And it's, it's cool because it sings to you when it's done it does.

Matt:

Yes, I have the LG LG version so

Eric:

and I have a Samsung refrigerator. So I've come to really respect and like Samsung's products. So that's really cool. You know, it's it's nice to see that they're putting that work ethic that they use to push Samsung to do something with H Mart to where, you know, they're really you know, bringing that culture over to us. I like it. I dig it. I have them all.

Matt:

I have the LG, you know, equivalent on washer dryer. So it does sing to you. And it's done in the dishwasher too. It's like do tu tu tu tu tu tu and it just keeps going until you're like fine.

Eric:

Alright, where are we able to find information on UCC? Because I think I, so here's the thing.

Matt:

uh, yes

Eric:

the English version of this website, just has some very basic information because this is a Japanese company.

Matt:

Mm hmm.

Eric:

Yeah, products of Japan. And so the information is pretty basic. I think you have the Wikipedia page pulled up?

Matt:

Yes,

Eric:

all I was able to find was a very, very basic translated version that doesn't go into a lot of detail. All it really shows on the on the English version of the website, is the product lines, so you can see what they make, what it is, but you don't really get much more of a description than that. So that's the reason you're not going to really get much of a description, because There literally is none. Now I would imagine the Japanese site probably has more information, but I can't read Japanese and I don't have time to translate it, but you have some information on history. So

Matt:

I will enlighten you. So UCC stands for the Ueshima

Eric:

So since the 60s Coffee Company Limited and Ltd monikers is used by a lot of companies but just not in the US which I always thought was kind of weird. I like limited as a company like as a little acronym. So the company was started as a single store named Ueshima Tadao Shoten in 1933. It became a limited partnership in 1940. And in 1951 became Ueshima Coffee Company. The company, so get this, the company introduced the world's first canned coffee, which was coffee with milk. You know, which is what they do in April of 1969. These like that's why I was said in Asia it's always kind of been like this canned thing where in the US you didn't really see it too much. Everything was ground fresh brewed like coffee, like big coffee karaf type you know coffee, in Asia, it's always been like this is like always been a thing this size.

Matt:

since ever since I can remember

Eric:

they really paved the way for canned coffee.

Matt:

Oh yeah, for canned everything. I mean, I'm almost positive like even remember, we were in Iraq, they had the canned whiskey. It looked like it looked like a can of beer. But it was like canned whiskey.

Eric:

Yeah,

Matt:

I remember that. But that's like everybody else in the world cans, everything and it's absolutely normal. Except for the US.

Eric:

I want to make an observation to you ever grabbed a bottle of Sapporo beer. And you notice how like those cans are super tough. Like he can't even hardly squeeze them. They're really well made cans. They don't crush easy. They're strong. I wouldn't say this. This can is particularly strong as a Sapporo can, but but it's close. It's definitely a robust can. So it can seem like it could really take the rigors of you know, travel and being handled in a vending machine and getting rolled around. So it's certainly a good quality in terms of packaging. It's real basic. I mean, let's face it. marketing's a thing. I mean, look, how are you look at the Royal mills. And it just it has the look of alright when you look at the Royal Mills can it just it has the look of coffee

Matt:

inexpensive, yeah

Eric:

like I'm basic coffee here I am working man, here's my

Matt:

Yep. coffee. But when you get into this marketing, you know, it's

Eric:

But this, it's like when you see it, you think Well, this almost got an art deco look, if you look the font they used, you know the colors, it's got more of a luxurious look to it because it just it looks more appealing to the eye when you look at the way that they market it and, and let's face it to, they're clever to use the shape of can to because, you know I think that people associate a regular can link that with let's just say basic. They associate it with a cheap soda pop that just comes in that very industrial basic size can like a beer or soda. must be a little more special. It's got the bottleneck. I don't know. It's just it's just got that different look that separates it from everything else, so marketing's a thing. So you know, it starts to put you into the mindset of, hey, this might be a little nicer, right?

Matt:

Well, it'll be interesting.

Eric:

You're led to believe so

Matt:

it'll be interesting to see how it tastes because they actually own a coffee farm in Hawaii in Kona. So these are Kona coffee beans. Probably the same kind of coffee beans that we that were used in the royal mills. It smells the same

Eric:

it very well could be almost the same.

Matt:

It smells like you know, smack cereal. I just smelled it. So it will be interesting.

Eric:

It might be a little darker.

Matt:

It is darker for sure. So it'll be interesting to see. But it smells very similar, right?

Eric:

Well. Yes, I mean, you get in that yeah, like smack cereal if you've ever if you've ever had it. And so that smack cereal is a what a corn base.

Matt:

Yeah, it is a sweetened corn cereal. Yeah,

Eric:

I wonder why it has that smell.

Matt:

I don't know. But I know that I liked it. I liked drinking the milk afterwards. It was really good.

Eric:

let's give it a try.

Matt:

Yeah. Oh, that's significantly better. That you see. I don't know how they do it. But it almost has like a soft, velvety, like texture when it goes into your mouth. When it goes in your mouth. And it hits the back of your throat. Tastes like velvet, ha ha ha

Eric:

Wow, It's about to get X rated here. Wow. You know, I will say it. It does taste considerably more bitter. So

Matt:

but, see, I like it

Eric:

in my layman mind, the way I'm going to associate it is, well, if it's more bitter than it must be more strong. I mean, in layman's terms, that was the only way I would approach it.

Matt:

That's what I'm looking for. Like I'm looking for that bite. Like I want the bite when I drink it. I want it to taste like coffee. And that tastes like coffee that that is good cold brew coffee right there

Eric:

it is. I'm gonna go ahead and jettison the rest of mine in here. Now that, this is so this coffee in this tumbler is coffee that I've got doctored up with a little, little, little bit of milk and I use that Chobani Sweet Cream. Not much. We're talking about just a little splash, just enough to knock the edge off. But um,

Matt:

no, that's that is outstanding.

Eric:

This is the coffee I've been drinking the most. Now granted, I've been doctoring it up. And that's the first time I've really had it black.

Matt:

Oh, yeah.

Eric:

And it's strong. Now, I would say considerably more strong than the royal mills. Now. Considering it comes from Hawaii, it's probably the same beans. Maybe we could just chalk it up to a slightly different brewing process. Maybe it's just made different?

Matt:

Oh, absolutely. I'm sure. I mean, honestly, come on. You can tell look at the cans. One company obviously puts more effort into the brewing process. It costs more. By like what $1 A can. This was $2.50?

Eric:

so the royal Mills was$1.99 and H Mart these they sell for $2.59? 60 more cents.

Matt:

Yep. And I mean world a difference. I mean, even the way that I looked, this has a richer, darker color it had a much more robust flavor. It's just more enjoyable. It wasn't like drink is not like drinking coffee water. That taste that reminded me of coffee water. Right? This reminds me of coffee.

Eric:

Now. I have to make a confession. Okay, I'm not overly sure that my palate you know, maybe I just haven't drink as much coffee as you have. But maybe I feel like my palate can't quite make out the the finities and niceties of the of you know, the differences right. So all I really know is the difference is that coffee tastes a little bit more sedate and watered down. And this coffee has got more of a bitter strong flavor now is that to say the flavor itself is physically better? I don't know if I can really make that distinction. But I can say that it does taste good. Both of them tastes good. It's just one taste stronger than the other. And that's the only real

Matt:

but it alsohad a different texture. I'm sure you I'm sure you kind of felt that texture. Like when it went in it It had more of a mouthfeel to it. I guess if you were you're comparing it to like,

Eric:

like none. If you were to blindfold you think that you think you were drinking water but this it's like, hey, this isn't just water

Matt:

Oh, yeah, absolutely. Yep, that has that has depth to it. Okay,

Eric:

yeah, I can get that. So while we're on UCC, let's go we have another offering from UCC now, I had to go on. I think the website I ordered these from was yami.

Matt:

Oh, well known Japanese grocery store site

Eric:

let's see. Yes, Yami. Is the name because I had had a look on my phone the email that they sent the ad. Yeah. So it's, it's Yami is like a online, Japanese grocery store, Asian grocery store. And they sell all kind of, so I had to get these through them because H Mart doesn't carry these.

Matt:

Do we have an affiliate link for those guys.

Eric:

I don't know But look, here's the thing, so I had to get this through them. But I thought it was cool. And it's worth noting that this particular product has only been out in UCC line since March of 2021. So this is still relatively new product for them. This is something new in their stable. And this is it's worth noting that this is a larger serving size So this is 16.9 fluid ounces. And this and this is also black, no sugar, and it's a cold brew. Now, I'm assuming that's probably going to have some difference in the way that it tastes and maybe the strength of it. But it's worth noting that this coffee was about $3. Now granted, it's more coffee. So I would imagine because it's more product that you know, it'd be a higher cost. Also, this is the only coffee in the lineup that is in a basic plastic bottle, much more simplified packaging. So this takes me is more of the on the go kind of person just like the same way you would pick up a coke or something out of a vending machine and a 20 ounce bottles, just plastic, you're going to drink it, discard it, like you're going to drink it from the bottle and not like pour this in something else whereby the metal cans put me more in the line of okay, yeah, you can drink it direct Sure, right out of the can. But this seems like something you would pour in something else. This seems like I'm we're just gonna be booking down the road drink a coffee

Matt:

That almost seems like it would be designed for you to share because that's way above the normal portion size. And you can just pour like a shots worth in there because I am getting amped. Give me like half of that. Like that's good.

Eric:

I don't want to get Yeah, I don't want to get too far gone

Matt:

I'm gonna be

Eric:

we're getting towards the end of the day. I don't want to get so amped up. I can't sleep tonight.

Matt:

And I've already had like 10 cups of regular coffee. This is gonna have me jumping out of the seat

Eric:

I want to pour enough where we can see the color.

Matt:

Oh, yeah, absolutely

Eric:

Let's check out the color.

Matt:

Definitely a good this is actually darker than this is darker than the other one.

Eric:

It is.

Matt:

Yeah.

Eric:

All right. Let's give it some

Matt:

I've got high hopes for this.

Eric:

Let's give it some smells here. Ooh,

Matt:

yeah.

Eric:

Okay. That right there. So that's very different than right there It puts me in the mood like okay, like when we're talking about okay,

Matt:

not smacks.

Eric:

Yeah, not smacks totally. Not sweet and and and corn like but more like this This is like I'm, I'm putting my nose into a bag of coffee beand smelling straight up coffee beans.

Matt:

I agree.

Eric:

And like, alright, I remember when I was a kid, and my pops would brew a big old pot of coffee. And I would go by and just catch a whiff of that coffee, right like and it was super strong had that real bitter and smoky bean like kind of aroma, which was a good aroma. But I recall like, whenever I would taste it, it just it tastes terrible. I didn't like the taste of coffee when I was a kid. I think it sort of turned me off. But this puts me more in line of like what I would expect a brewed pot of coffee to smell like when you just walk by you freshly brewed a pot of coffee.

Matt:

So of the coffee's that we have here today. This is probably the truest form of coffee we have because it's literally two ingredients. Water. Coffee.

Eric:

Let's taste it

Matt:

that's it, water coffee.

Eric:

Here we go

Matt:

Hmm. That is interesting. That tastes nothing like coffee.

Eric:

Hmm.

Matt:

Like I don't know what that tastes like.

Eric:

I'm getting

Matt:

but that ain't coffee. Like, in my opinion,

Eric:

look, it's, it's kind of a I have hints of coffee. Like if you kind of, you know, take some in the aroma as you drink it. You know, like, a lot of times when you drink something, you're also kind of smelling it. And like those two senses sort of blend together and then in the kind of, you know, meld together a little bit. So yeah, it's like, it's got that coffee vibe, but kind of in the same way that the royal Mills has the coffee vibe. Yeah, like it almost has that watered down coffee taste.

Matt:

That's disappointing

Eric:

it smells great, it's got a nice color and everything like that. But I don't know it. It puts me into the mindset of being just a very basic.

Matt:

Yeah, that's that's disappointing. Honestly, I had much better aspirations for that.

Eric:

Yeah, especially for $3 coffee,

Matt:

but I think but it's $3 by volume. That's the thing. I think with this,

Eric:

maybe we're still in the same price point is this if you scale down the portion?

Matt:

I do. I think on this one you're paying for portion size versus like three and a half ounces. You know,

Eric:

I have to say so far the two UCC products Now granted, okay, when we were looking at the website, there's so much stuff on their website, they have a bunch of different things that UCC sells, so I'm looking forward to trying some of their other products. And I really like their I like their brand. I like what they're doing.

Matt:

Mm hmm.

Eric:

I have to say so far. This is definitely the winner for me, is the UCC black coffee is what's doing it for me so far.

Matt:

Well, you just hold your breath because we have two top contenders coming in today. One weighing in at three and a half ounces and the other weighing in At 96 milligrams,

Eric:

I think that the price on these two coffees is pretty similar. So why don't we start out with the lightweight, the little guy and then we'll get up into the Tops. doesn't that is have like a premium look to it, look at it

Matt:

this is 275 milliliters, okay? And it can be served hot or cold.

Eric:

So let's break out that that Suntory now. Alright, this is the one I've been wanting to try the most, when I saw this on the website, you know when I think Suntory I think well, you know, with the Suntory always think of like Suntory whiskey right now, earlier you were doing some research, right?

Matt:

Yes. So now

Eric:

now tell Yeah, enlighten us because I know you've got the information there. But tell us about Suntory. So this is the boss black Suntory. And this is black coffee. non-carbonated No sugar, no nothing. It's just black coffee. I mean, the ingredients are literally water and coffee. So let's put that in perspective here

Matt:

Yup So it is a is a flash brew. So it is a little bit different in how it is derived. But from their actual website. It's a blending fine quality beans from major coffee districts such as Brazil, Ethiopia and Colombia. Bosses cold black coffee is brewed and canned in Japan by award winning company. Suntory, the makers of the number one bourbon, Jim Beam and other fine whiskies

Eric:

so they own Jim Bean

Matt:

They own Jim Beam as of 2014

Eric:

and I know the Suntory whiskies that I've ever had, we're talking the same people right?

Matt:

Yep, yeah, Suntory is a distillery yeah

Eric:

Those Suntory whiskies man, they're fantastic,

Matt:

they are something else

Eric:

they are really good so

Matt:

they they acquired Jim Beam for 16 billion dollars back in 2014. So, you know, they still produce still an American company, per se, the you know, all the distillers and stuff they're still Americans we're still making it here in America and bourbon by by law has to be made in America, in New white oak charred barrels. So like used to, it is not like, you know, you can change that that's part of the the, you know, confines of how we produce bourbon,

Eric:

just like a Scotch has

Matt:

yeah, just like a Scotch has to have certain parameters that is hit. Suntory, on the other hand does lend itself to coffee in a way that they really promote craftsmanship. And that's what puts Suntory on the map was that, that high attention to detail with craftsmanship, whether it is with you know, grain alcohol, whether it's with bourbons or whiskies and even like you said before, when they used to have the weapons manufacturing the barrels, was it Browning? They would do the Browning barrels, and they would straighten it with the with the tree when the barrel when they when the barrel came out.

Eric:

Yeah, they so in Yeah, so in the I think it was a Miroku factory, okay, in Japan, when they were producing Browning shotguns they had this like, little old man that would take the take the barrels and literally by eye, he would look. And there was just a couple of like really strong pillars in the in the in the, in the factory, and he would just literally go and it's like a padded, you know area, and he would just tweak them.

Matt:

Yeah,

Eric:

and straighten them by eye. And so that devotion to craftsmanship is a very Japanese trait.

Matt:

Yep.

Eric:

So I must say, I have high hopes for this coffee because I'm very familiar with Suntory whisky and very familiar with this brand. This is the most familiar I am with all these products so far. So I have very high hopes for this.

Matt:

And they they believe in the product enough to put their actual name on it. So not like not a subsidiary not like some, because what you find a lot with the like, with distilleries, if they don't have enough confidence in that product to sell it, they'll put it at a different brand name. So like Jim Beam, or even Buffalo Trace, they have all these different sub brands. And if it's kind of not up to their standards, they'll push it out as something else. But they believe in this product enough to put their actual name on there.

Eric:

This paints the picture of high hopes and I don't think we're gonna be disappointed.

Matt:

Let's see. All right. All righty. Okay, well, it is a little bit lighter. Huh? No, that's pretty dark. Okay. It's just the volume of the glass.

Eric:

Good smwll. Ooh, baby.

Matt:

Yeah, that smells pretty good.

Eric:

That smells Like grandpa's coffee there. So this is the one that certainly puts me most in line of like a traditional coffee that you know, that my grandpa would make.

Matt:

Let's give it a try.

Eric:

All right.

Matt:

Hmm, that is very, very smooth.

Eric:

Wow. Yeah, that is good. That's very good coffee

Matt:

no, that's that's legit. That is absolutely legit like it's, it's creamy in a way that it doesn't actually have cream in it. And that's hard to do that is very hard to take something that is bitter like black coffee and make it smooth, but

Eric:

I am going to have some more actually, I think

Matt:

if you're gonna do that, leave it to some master distillers woo, leave it to some master distillers to be able to pull that bitterness out and make something smooth,

Eric:

not not only Yeah, but here's the clear distinction that we have to Ooh, I got to make another observation. Here's the other distinction we have to make as well is that we're not talking pulling the bitterness out in the sense that it tastes watered down we're talking about I think the distinction should be pulling the bitterness out in a way that still appreciates the the the spirit of what the coffee can be, but without it being bitter. So there's a difference. We're talking about the flavor profile.

Matt:

Yep.

Eric:

And I'm not a very experienced coffee drinker. But I can say that this puts me more in the line of a great coffee. It tastes good. And I don't think there's a bias that exists because I have high expectations for Suntory. That's not it. It's more of a you know, I do understand the amount of respect and care they put into doing their whiskies and things. So yeah, there might be that baseline expectation, but it's more of a confirmation of my bias, I suppose. Now remember what I said earlier about the Sapporo cans and how tough they are. Alright, I want you to take that can and I want you to try to crush it

Matt:

barely a dent

Eric:

Aint happening.

Matt:

Barely a dent. Yep.

Eric:

That's a tough freakin Can. I mean, that is a real See, that's care. Yeah, yeah, they want to make sure tough can. And it's exactly like the same type of vibe that you get from a Sapporo can. that not only is the product made well, but it arrives safe, that it doesn't bust or pop. I mean, it can be it can be, you know, ran through vending machines. So there's a totality to the way that they're approaching what they're doing. Right. So it lends itself well to just about anything you could ever want to do like

Matt:

this like this. You can just flimsy and even even the other even the other UCC is pretty strong, but that that's next level do. You barely got it?

Eric:

dude that took like all my hand strength. Just the dent it that much. And it's a tough can

Matt:

it is

Eric:

And that's worth noting and you know what, I am going to drink all this call this coffee. I drop this go to waste. And you know what? I bought a lot of it. I'm happy. I'm a happy boy. All right

Matt:

this you know what this reminds me. This reminds me of Eagle rare. If you're gonna compare it to like a bourbon or whiskey. I would say that's most comparable to Eagle Eagle rare in the fact that it's very surprising. The first thing people - oh did you sprain in your hand trying to squeeze the can because I stopped. I was like, no, they're good \

Eric:

I had a vein popping out of my neck squeezing that thing,

Matt:

but that's what it reminds me of is like it's so smooth. And like that initial reaction of like, everybody that I've ever given Eagle rare. They're like, Oh, no, I don't do whiskey. I don't do brown liquor. I'm like, Just try it. And then they try it. And they're like, that's really smooth.

Eric:

Yep.

Matt:

It's that was that same reaction to black coffee.

Eric:

I agree. Oh, now one thing I want to add as well. All right, one tiny detriment. Granted, now this is a great quality product. It's packaged. Well, it's marketed Well, it comes from a heritage brand. And But alright, what is the distinction about this compared to everything else that you immediately see for the money?

Matt:

Oh, it's a much smaller portion size

Eric:

much smaller portion.

Matt:

Yep.

Eric:

All right. So when we associate quality to price, right, you always have to immediately think about portion. So if this costs $3 I think they were like $2.59 or three bucks. Alright, that costs $3 All right. What what what we must come to the conclusion of is that if this is considerably less product for the same money, it must be better.

Matt:

Yep. It holds to be true.

Eric:

And I think that that holds water all day long baby. Whoo. Well, that coffee is fantastic. And it's not just confirmation bias like it literally like this makes me want to pour a glass and drink it. i just, The only thing I wish it was more

Matt:

Yeah,

Eric:

I wish it was bigger.

Matt:

Well,

Eric:

but in holding true to that Japanese culture kind of thing of, you know, small bits throughout the day. This is great if you just need to pick me up. You know you're not drinking a ton at a time you don't To get all jittery like this does fit that kind of, you know, model

Matt:

that and, you know, in Japanese culture like my, my grandmother was born in Japan. She's born in Okinawa. She's Korean, but she was born in Japan due to unforeseen sort of unforeseen circumstances in a war. But I digress. Yes. Well, in Okinawa, they have they, they have a reputation for having the longest lives like they live the longest in general, just in Okinawa, Japan, and that's because they,

Eric:

out of the whole world?

Matt:

Yeah, no, out of the whole world, like, because they practice their average lifespan is the highest in the world. And that's because they practice, they have this, I'm not gonna say weird, but they have like this, this interesting practice of everything that you do, like food wise, you only do to 80%. So like, if you're eating, they only eat to 80% full. So they always leave the table, like a little hungry, they never like gorge themselves. So it's just part of what they do in Okinawa, now and their diet is a lot different too. But in Japan, they have a lot of, you know, self discipline, they kind of pride themselves on that. So everything they do, like, as Americans, we're like, oh, man, I want a bigger can versus like in Japan that, like no that their reaction is you should be able to suffice on that little bit of coffee that you get

Eric:

That's right. You're you're you're experiencing the artistry in the quality of what you're consuming. And you're not concerned about the quantity you're you're you're more about the craftsmanship and the quality.

Matt:

Yeah, I guess you could say that.

Eric:

And that is part of the argument. I mean, so one could say, hey, at the 80, 80th percentile, 80%, you know, that we're just going to simply consume less so that we don't, you know, gain weight or get unhealthy or that we don't have, let's just say, the societal approach of oh, well, that person is someone who takes more than they need. So So you have to think about the underlying context for why they live that type of lifestyle. And part of that could be, well, you know what, I don't have to drink a whole giant coffee because I have the best coffee, I can experience I can get my coffee fix and get a little bit of caffeine and go throughout my day, and have something that's great. Something that I can savor and enjoy.

Matt:

Well, it seems to me that that particular Can you a drink, no problem, you can drink that whole serving no problem. When I look at something like the UCC cold brew black here, that's like, triple the portion size. This seems like it would be a chore to drink. Like, I would have to force myself to drink this.

Eric:

Or you'd have to, you know, Ice it down with a whole bunch of sugar and extra stuff to make it palatable

Matt:

something like that. Or even the regular UCC black. I would drink that. No problem.

Eric:

All right, we have one last coffee to try here. This was the maxim top.

Matt:

Yes.

Eric:

And when we look at that, it says maximum espresso. So I don't know if maybe this one is just super loaded down with caffeine, like more of a traditional espresso. I mean, when you look at the at the the labeling of the advertising on the can shows an espresso machine. So yeah, it's espresso. Now in my layman's, look, if I were to just pick that up, I might not have made that distinction immediately. It wasn't super well known. But of course, you know, this looks to be Korean. That's Korean, right?

Matt:

It is Korean.

Eric:

Okay. Yeah, I can tell the difference. I'm not too much of a laymen. Alright, so we got our Korean coffee.

Matt:

Yeah

Eric:

this is a now this one has what looks to be some maybe artificial sweetener in it.

Matt:

Um, you know, I saw that it says sugar is zero. And it says black because typically espresso is black. You don't I mean,

Eric:

okay,

Matt:

we'll see though. We're about to find out

Eric:

Vitamin C.

Matt:

Oh, that's weird.

Eric:

coffee flavor potassium carbonate, vitamin C sugar ester.

Matt:

Yeah, I mean, I don't know man. I will tell you that maxim is a very, very well known Coffee Company. They are like the Folgers Coffee of Korea

Eric:

Dongseo Company. Out of Seoul, Seoul, South Korea.

Matt:

Yes. Yes.Yes.

Eric:

All right.

Matt:

Because I'm like Yes. Eric, you tell me tell me about South Korea.

Eric:

You got the Stairway to Heaven. Right.

Matt:

So a little bit about Maxim maxim is the most famous Korean coffee brand in South Korea and and around the world. Sure, if you say so. They have different flavors available but Maxim mocha gold mild is by far the most popular well we have is the let me turn this around real quick. This is the maximum top black. So this again it's known as the Folgers of Korea so they're they're very very well known for instant coffee. Like almost all the instant coffee that comes out of Korea is Maxim

Eric:

Oh, oh Okay, much different look. Look I'm gonna give us a little tiny shot of this because this is espresso. I don't want to be jumping off the walls this evening.

Matt:

Yep.

Eric:

Wow, that's got a very different look to it, man. This puts me in a different mood.

Matt:

Don't let me down now Maxim. I mean it definitely has a coffee smell but it's still

Eric:

pretty basic.

Matt:

Yeah, it does and, dang it Maxim

Eric:

And look how it kind of sticks aside the glass like I don't know if that's the additives or the stuff they put in there. Like none of the other coffees did that. It's got this kind of

Matt:

like froth froth. It does have some froth on it is expressed so maybe that from

Eric:

it. Yeah, maybe that's part of it. Alright, let's uh, let's taste it Whoo. Booooing, I mean that that hits you

Matt:

it definitely

Eric:

when you drink it is like energy injection.

Matt:

It tastes like energy. I get it. I wouldn't say that's enjoyable. I think that that has a purpose.

Eric:

This is like you need to fix and move on.

Matt:

Yes, that is that is like that is the what is the

Eric:

woooh It got right in me like, woooh

Matt:

what is it, Golden grain. The like grain alcohol like that is the grain alcohol of black coffee and like a cut out the pleasantries.

Eric:

This is straight up. You need to get caffeinated and get the work and get back to work, hurry up and get it now

Matt:

Yeah, that's what that reminds me of. Because like he tasted, there's no pleasantries. They didn't do any of that nice velvety stuff. It's the smell is like barely there. But man, it definitely delivers the goods as far as caffeine goes. Because it tastes like caffeine, like, energy.

Eric:

Alright, So we've really gone down the rabbit hole. I know we've gotten through all five, we are kind of getting close on time here. So let's wrap up with determining, okay, in order like we always do in their flights. I think we can clearly and concisely say that the Suntory is the king.

Matt:

Yes. Definitely hands down. Yep

Eric:

Yep. So, who would be next? I will see if you think what I do.

Matt:

I mean, the UCC Black is definitely second.

Eric:

Yep.

Matt:

I would probably take Maximus the third?

Eric:

Yep.

Matt:

Just for the pure energy that it's going to give you

Eric:

agreed

Matt:

Oh, man, dude, I don't want to grade those next to those. Those next two are very, very disappointing.

Eric:

Alright, listen. By virtue of one of them. You get more product than the other for the same price.

Matt:

I would put this as I would put this next. I don't know why I'm not digging this. Like this right here. The UCC cold brew, it tastes nothing like coffee.

Eric:

It's on the downside.

Matt:

Yes. Dude, like it, it tastes, That taste nothing I don't know what it tastes like. But it ain't coffee. Well, but that's just me.

Eric:

I would probably I agree with your assessment.

Matt:

Do you

Eric:

I think we're on the same, I think we're on the same

Matt:

at least this one gave me a little something out of it, man. But this just tasted weird man. Like, I don't? I don't know. Maybe it's because it's the only one in the plastic bottle? I don't know.

Eric:

And also in terms of what would do well, on a vending machine. Obviously, we've kind of got the right order for like, what's vending machine friendly?

Matt:

Yeah,

Eric:

I mean, granted, plastics do super well in vending machines. But I agree. I'm a little bit let down by the cold brew not to say that it probably doesn't have his dedicated group of fans that like it. And to be fair, all right. UCC as a company, I'm just trying to be fair to them because I mean, look, number two, baby, she's she's in there, right? So it's in the running, so at UCC makes great coffee. But I just will say that their SKUs that are available on the website. They've got a ton of different coffee. So they do this cold brew and flavored version. I bet it's pretty freakin good.

Matt:

Probably. Yeah. I mean, if you look at it, just from a standpoint of, you know, all the different types of black coffee that you could possibly get. I mean, the top three, like you have to Japanese, and a Korean, and then the American Hawaiian coffee, we have a pretty good spread there. And they all had their own unique attributes. You know, like this one obviously didn't taste the best. But you could feel the energy coursing through your body like when you drink it

Eric:

And to be fair on the Maxim top. If you look at the ingredients and look at like where the beans and stuff come from, like you're talking Brazil, Colombia. So like you're getting beans from all over the world, like, you know, Hawaii, I mean, Colombia, I mean that that does give you a little bit of an idea of like, what the different beans from around the world tastes like so

Matt:

but that's Suntory black coffee. Man. That was next level

Eric:

that will man really let me tell you, I'm going to be getting more of that.

Matt:

If you guys have the opportunity to find that on Amazon. Buy and try it. It's it's really good. Yeah, I enjoyed it.

Eric:

Awesome. So Alright, y'all, thank you so much for joining us on this flight. I hope you had a great time and hope you enjoyed learning about some of this coffee We have many more on the way. I hope you all have a great week. Thank you so much for tuning in, make sure that you, you know, go through and give us some great ratings on all the different podcast outlets so that we can show up further in the search results. Also, if you follow us on YouTube, make sure to click that notification bell. Subscribe. We appreciate the support. Go over to Ballistic Ink. Pick yourself up a snazzy new T shirt. That's one way that you can directly support the podcast if you wish. Have yourselves a great week. I'm probably not going to sleep tonight, but that's okay, I'll go upstairs and lift a bunch of weights to try to get myself tired

Matt:

smash like button This video here.

Eric:

have a good one. Have a great week. See you next week but later. Thanks for listening to like liberty and pursuit. If you enjoyed the show. Be sure to subscribe on Apple podcasts, Spotify, and anywhere else podcasts are found. Be sure to leave us a five star review we'd really appreciate that. You can support us over on Ballistic Ink by picking yourself up some merch And remember guys, dangerous freedom. Have a good one